Stage of the Week

Waterslea - Day 2 and 3

During Term 4, Stage 3 students finally completed their long-awaited camp (was originally scheduled for the start of Term 2) by attending the nearby Anglican Youthworks campsite at Waterslea, for days 2 and 3 of their adventure program.

This time, the waterslide was open, as well as the other exciting activities, such as building and racing billy carts, completing a low ropes course, making fires and cooking damper, learning to use specialist equipment to climb ropes, orienteering with maps and compasses, bush-walking, archery and, most importantly, our Christian discovery groups.

Led ably by Steve Parker, one of our NCS dads and other impressive leaders, including NCS alumni, James Flippence and Cohen Perry, we had safe and engaging experiences. 

A few bulls-eyes were scored in archery, ceiling beams were touched in rope climbing, tight ropes were walked across and rings of fire (not literally) were passed through without touching in low ropes. Billy carts were constructed and raced down steep inclines, a slide was slipped and splashed all the way to the bottom. 

Compasses were consulted (remember 'red Fred in the shed'!) and maps read, as clues were gathered in orienteering. Leaders and students were lost in the bush (not really, but we pretended to be!) then found again! Teams worked together to show the initiative needed to solve puzzles and quandaries.  Damper was baked (or burnt to a crisp) in the fires that students constructed then lit. Bible stories found new meaning, as the parable of the lost sheep and the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel were explained in the setting of the 21st century Australian bush.

We have memories to treasure as students and staff bonded, overcame fears (perhaps they didn't even know were there) and felt liberated from some of the burdens carried through much of 2020. Jesus said he came to give us life 'to the full' - this certainly felt like a glimpse of that fullness of life our Saviour spoke of. Thanks to all who made these experiences possible.

Stage 3's Surfin' Safari

Stage Three students and staff had a 'Surfin' Safari' near the town of Ulladulla last week. 

On Tuesday, Mr Terlich, Mrs Smith, Mr McLennan and Year 6 travelled to the beach at Narrawallee, near Mollymook for a day's adventure on the sand and in the surf and then on Wednesday, Mr Parker, Mrs Smith and Year 5 did the exact same trip. 

Each group split in half, with one group learning about the ocean surf conditions and having a surf lesson. The other participated in various beach activities. There was sand-castle building, nippers beach games, sports activities, exploring rock pools, trying to spot crabs and fish. We even walked to a nearby reserve for lunch and to play on the park equipment. After midday, we switched around and the group that had been on the beach now donned wet suits and painted their faces with zinc, in preparation for 'warrior stance' on their surf boards. The group that had finished in the breakers, ravenous as they were, tore through their lunches and into the afternoon's beach activities with aplomb!

Worn out, but satisfied, our groups made their way back to school, having had a taste of 'surf being up' and wanting more! 

Stage 3 PDHPE

In PDHPE, Stage 3 have been learning a variety of topics this year.

Topics we have covered for our Personal Development and Health programs are:

1. Managing Self

Students learnt and developed skills and understanding to foster their health, safety and wellbeing. They had the opportunities to practice to build and maintain respectful and caring relationships with others and learn strategies to deal with conflict and/or bullying. Students also explored the influence of emotional responses on relationships.

2. ‘Be Aware’ Drugs

Students had the opportunity to explore the different types of drugs and developed understanding of their effects on themselves and others. They learnt skills, strategies and responses that model assertiveness in challenging situations.

3. Puberty and Sex Education

Students and their families participated in a Zoom meeting presented by Interrelate when they explored changes to their bodies, discussed strategies to manage changes associated with puberty, exploring the function and interrelationship of body systems.

These are some activities that Stage 3 had the privilege to participate in:

1. Gymnastics clinic

2. Football clinic

3. AFL clinic

4. Cricket gala day

5. Swimming program

Stage 3 Science and Technology

We live in a world where digital technology is more and more prevalent in our everyday lives. Stage Three students have been delving into the digital world with a series of lessons and activities in Science and Technology this term. We learned about the difference between software and hardware, input and output devices, and how computers process and store information using long chains of 0s and 1s.

Students enjoyed looking inside an old desktop computer and a smart phone and could identify some of the internal parts that make them work. A visit from one of our resident IT experts, Mr Tasker, offered students an opportunity to ask questions and hear from someone who really knows their stuff!

Students embraced the challenge of learning to convert between the binary and decimal number systems. After the arduous task of writing their names in binary, they were pleased to know we aren’t usually required to communicate with computers using binary code. That’s what programming languages and compilers are for!

Students began using a block-based visual programming language to write instructions for a clever little device called the micro:bit. The BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer that introduces students to how software and hardware work together. It has a LED light display, buttons, sensors and many input/output features that, when programmed, let it interact with you and your world.

With more and more jobs in the digital world, we hope many of our students have been inspired and enthused to continue their learning in this field!

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